There's no such thing as privacy any more

December 8, 2010

WikiLeaks has some lessons for us all, old and new. Old, to always remember what our mothers told us - if you can't something nice about someone, don't say anything. New, for all of us, no matter what our positions, to realise that all electronic communication systems are little more than a gigantic Facebook.

Whatever is ''posted'' into any system, even a supposedly secure one, all it takes is a marginal ''friend'' to repost without your permission. Our children are learning about the perils of careless Facebook images and comments; perhaps it is time for those in positions of power to do the same.

Andy Carnahan Bowral

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Julian Assange's lawyers, presumably under instructions from their client, describe him as a ''homeless international refugee'' (''Julian Assange's bank account cancelled'', smh.com.au, December 7).

Presumably, then, he has renounced his Australian citizenship because he doesn't want to be associated with a free democracy in which our Foreign Minister does not seek to deny leaked comments he is said to have made about a major trading partner, but rather confirms that in international relationships all options and perspectives are discussed.

Does anyone think Kevin Rudd does not have off-the-record discussions about the United States or any other country with his counterparts in China and other countries with which we have a relationship?

WikiLeaks and its supporters risk becoming their own worst enemies in having no clear goal (other than leaking secret diplomatic documents because they can), being incapable of understanding or accepting responsibility for any fallout of their actions and having lost all sense of perspective.

Bernie de Vries Bolwarra

For heaven's sake, enough is enough. Any computer-savvy 10-year-old with a basic knowledge of Google could produce this list in 10 minutes (''Leaks offer targets for terrorist attacks'', December 7).

That the only factory in the world which produces antivenom for rattlesnakes or that the security of undersea communication cables would be important to the US is blindingly obvious.

These facilities are no more or less at risk today than they were before the WikiLeaks revelations.

Shall we throw in a few more for good measure? Defence production facilities that make ships and planes, munitions factories, bridges? Sorry if the terrorists are making notes.

(NBP) has successfully launched Cash & Cheque Management System

(NBP) has successfully launched Cash & Cheque Management System

National Bank of Pakistan (NBP)
has successfully launched Cash & Cheque Management System (CCMS) to provide cash management solutions to financial institutions and corporate customers on real time basis. According to NBP announcement here on Wednesday, President NBP Syed Ali Raza has inaugurated CCMS is a web based application designed to facilitate end to end users and to cater their needs related cash management services.

This service will be available at all the NBP branches countrywide. Meanwhile in pursuance of the judgment of the Supreme Court regarding the payment of provident fund to the employees of the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) the President National Bank of Pakistan submitted compliance report to registrar Supreme Court. The apex court in its decision was directed NBP to do the needful within a period of six weeks and submit compliance report to the Registrar of this Court. The President NBP complying with the order of the Court has submitted his report stating therein that an advertisement was placed in the national press on October 8, 9 asking all eligible employees/ex-employees to submit applications for payment in accordance with the order of the Court. He said that nearly 9,500 applications have been received so far and payment has been made as per direction of the Court. Applications continue to be received even after the cut-off date given in the advertisement, he said.
In some cases, the legal heirs and succession certificates require verification. All such applications shall be processed and payment will be made after scrutiny, he added. It is pertinent to mention here that the case was heard by a three member bench headed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan and comprising other two members namely Justice Tariq Pervez andJustice Ghulam Rabbani on October 20 and directions were issued to the President National Bank for compliance.-APP

WikiLeaks Is Winning the Info War So Far.

The U.S. government has declared war on WikiLeaks.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told Fox News last week, "We are stronger than one guy with one website. We should never be afraid of one guy that plopped down $35 and bought a Web address. ... We're not scared of one guy with one keyboard and a laptop."

So far the "one guy," WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, has been arrested and denied bail in the U.K. His website has been pummeled by a series of covert and overt attempts by governments and businesses around the world to cut off its oxygen supply, but the efforts have not stopped the information flow.

Electronic Frontier Foundation co-founder John Perry Barlow tweeted that the "first serious infowar is now engaged, and the "field of battle is WikiLeaks."

WikiLeaks appears to be holding its ground for now.

Assange and WikiLeaks are being treated as outlaws without formal legal charges, although U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said, "We have a very serious criminal investigation that's underway, and we're looking at all of the things that we can do to try to stem the flow of this information."

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, called WikiLeaks "an outrageous, reckless, and despicable action that will undermine the ability of our government and our partners to keep our people safe and to work together to defend our vital interests. Let there be no doubt: the individuals responsible are going to have blood on their hands."

House Homeland Security Committee member Rep. Candice Miller, R-Mich., called WikiLeaks a terrorist organization. "It is time that the Obama administration treats WikiLeaks for what it is -- a terrorist organization whose continued operation threatens our security," she said.

UK plans student visa shake-up

UK plans student visa shake-up

No change in fee or process, assures US consulate information officer.

LONDON: Overseas students in Britain wanting to stay on and look for work after their courses end will no longer be able to do so under government plans to curb immigration laid out on Tuesday.

Hundreds of thousands of overseas students study at British universities each year, most from China, India and Ireland, with numbers reaching record levels in 2009.

The government wants to tighten controls on entry visas for overseas students to address concerns that illegal immigrants are using them as an easy way to get into the country.

“This government wants high calibre students with the genuine desire to study to come to our country for temporary periods, and then return home,” said Immigration Minister Damian Green.

An overhaul of the student visa system would reduce the number of people entering Britain to study below degree level, as well as toughen English language requirements and limit students’ rights to work.

“Attracting talented students from abroad is vital to the UK but we must be more selective about who can come here and how long they can stay,” Green said.

“Too many students coming to study at below degree level have been coming here to live and work… We need to stop this abuse.”

The student route currently accounts for two-thirds of migrants entering the country each year. If the government’s proposals are passed, students will have to leave the country and apply for a new visa to further their studies.

What's in the WikiLeaks Insurance File

Now that Julian Assange has been arrested, everyone is concerned that they are about to leak the WikiLeaks Insurance File, a "poison pill" document cache that allegedly contains all kinds of damning revelations about everything from the government to major corporations and that can be unleashed if WikiLeaks is in danger of shutdown.

Here's what I assume will be inside:

• What Bill Murray whispers at the end of "Lost in Translation."
• Confirmation that they faked the moon landing, including outtakes from staging of the moon landing with crew visible in background, six takes in which Neil Armstrong keeps saying "One small step for mankind, one giant -- wait, no. One giant leap for man -- sorry. One giant step for leap man -- I'm sorry, I really thought I had it that time," and one shot where you can see the director's son eating a sandwich.
• A full explanation of the plot of Inception that includes whether or not he's dreaming at the end.
• Tell-all account of JFK assassination written by Grassy Knoll itself.
• A really, really offensive joke once told by Mother Theresa.
• Identity of Kaiser Soze
• Coca Cola secret ingredient: dingo blood.
• Non-conclusive evidence that Mel Gibson is a futuristic robot sent back in time to stop an asteroid from hitting Earth, but whose creator accidentally left his Generator of Phrases It Is Acceptable To Say on the 1835 default settings.
• Proof that the government is being run by the Masons, using evidence from building designs, dollar bill imagery, and something Joe Biden said once when his mic was turned off.
• A DVD of "National Treasure."
• Proof that Paul is Dead.
• Original version of Gettysburg Address, which is excessively long and makes a lot of steamboat jokes that don't really land.
• Proof that wars in Afghanistan, Iraq are actually going really well and civilians love us there!
• Synched version of Dark Side of the Moon and Wizard of Oz.
• President Obama's birth certificate, which indicates that he was not only not born in the U.S., but that he was "made in Area 51 by top men."
• Guide to all the secret phalluses embedded in Disney animated films.
• Documentation that Piers Morgan and Tony Hayward are in fact the same person
• Location of Elvis, which everyone's been keeping secret because, well, it's just sad, really, what's happened to the man.
• Location of Osama bin Laden, which turns out to be that one bathroom stall at the far end of the women's room where no one goes in or comes out but you know someone's there because you can see the feet.
• Victoria's Secret

by:compost

Google launches Nexus S phone in UK and US

Google has made its second bid for a slice of the mobile phone market, with the launch of its Nexus S phone.

The Samsung-built device comes less than 12 months after the launch of the firm's Nexus One, built by HTC, which failed to win over many consumers.

The Nexus S will initially be launched in the UK and US, and will be available "from the end of the month".

It is the first phone to feature the latest version of Google's Android operating system known as Gingerbread.

It also comes with new hardware such as Near Field Communications (NFC).

This short-range wireless technology is used predominantly in places like Japan and allows people to use their phone as a travel ticket, make small payments and scan their phone over adverts, for example, to get more information about a product.

"NFC allows the Nexus S to read smart objects" said David Burke of Google's mobile division.

These objects must have a small, unpowered NFC chip in them that is activated when the phone is held near.

"When you put the phone on top, it energises the circuit," explained Mr Burke. "It can echo information back to the phone and the phone can send information to the chip.

"So, you can swipe a movie poster and watch the trailer automatically," he said.

NFC is a growing trend in mobiles and will start to become more pervasive in the New Year, said Shaun Collins, managing director of research firm CCS Insight.

"NFC is going to be the technology of 2011, in my opinion," he told BBC News. "Most of the BlackBerries will have it and a big swathe of mid to high-level Nokias will have it."

The next version of the iPhone is also rumoured to contain the technology.

The Google blog said it would be available after 16 December in the US and 20 December in the UK.

However, a spokesperson for Carphone Warehouse said that it would take pre-orders from 1600 GMT today, but it would not be on sale "until later in the month".

The firm said it was still negotiating contracts with "all of the UK operators" and could not say when a phone ordered today would be delivered.

"We don't want to promise anything to customers that we can't deliver," she said.